Abington, PA Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Section 58-9 defines 'animal' broadly to include birds, fish, reptiles and insects, and Article II's purpose clause in § 58-8 explains why the list in § 58-10 matters: it exists to promote health, safety and welfare, and wherever the Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 162) imposes greater restrictions than Chapter 58, zoning controls. That cross-reference is doing real work for livestock and poultry. Section 58-10 permits keeping poultry, defined as ducks, chickens, swans, geese, turkeys, guinea fowl and pigeons kept for show or racing, but tags the entry 'subject to zoning.' The same qualifier attaches to cows (beef and dairy), goats, sheep, and horses and ponies.

In practice that means Chapter 58 does not itself set a lot-size, setback or headcount threshold for these animals; it authorizes keeping them at all, then defers the where and how much to the zoning district rules in Chapter 162. An animal that is not on the § 58-10 list and not on the § 58-11 prohibited list can still be kept only with a permit from the Board of Animal Regulation under § 58-12, which requires a veterinarian's health certificate, a description of the animal's quarters and a fee set by § 58-15.

Anyone keeping animals under Chapter 58, including permitted poultry and livestock, is also bound by the nuisance rules in Article III: § 58-17 bars keeping any animal so as to create offensive odors, excessive noise or unsanitary conditions, and § 58-19 exempts horses and ponies used for transportation from the general nuisance rule only while they are in a street right-of-way, not a sidewalk.